Temple politics: How Mamata is trying to usurp BJP’s campaign ahead of 2026 polls
BJP has opposed the construction of Jagannath temple in Digha, saying state funds cannot be used for religious projects.
The chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, recently announced that the Jagannath Temple, which is being built in the coastal town of Digha in East Midnapore district on the lines of the Jagannath temple in Puri in Odisha, would be inaugurated on April 30, 2025.

Banerjee has also announced that the skywalk leading to the famous Kalighat temple in Kolkata, for which final preparations are going on, will also be inaugurated next February.
With assembly elections in West Bengal due in 2026, these moves by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief, Banerjee, are being seen by political experts as an attempt to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Hindutva politics.
“The temple would be inaugurated on Akshaya Tritiya on April 30, 2025. The date has been fixed by priests. The first rath yatra will be held next year. I will be contributing ₹5 lakh to purchase the broom, made of sandalwood and gold, for the Rath Yatra,” Banerjee told reporters in Digha after inspecting the construction work on December 11.
While the foundation stone for Jagannath Dham was laid in 2019, just before Covid-19 pandemic struck, the construction started in mid-2022. The state has already spent around ₹250 crore on the temple project. Officials said that while 90% of the construction work, including the marble statutes of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Goddess Subhadra, has been completed, work on the neem-wood statues is under process.
“This is definitely an attempt by Banerjee to counter the BJP’s Hindutva politics with an eye on the 2026 assembly polls. This would, to some extent, take the sting out of the saffron attack. The BJP knows this very well and this has irked the party with senior leaders criticising the move,” said Biswanath Chakraborty, professor of political science at the Rabindra Bharati University.
BJP legislator and leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly Suvendu Adhikari opposed the construction of Jagannath Temple in Digha, saying that as per the Constitution, state funds cannot be used to construct any institution of a particular religion.
Both the Kalighat temple in Kolkata and the Jagannath temple in Puri are revered by millions of Bengali Hindus. While the Jagannath Temple in Puri is one of the char dham set up by Adi Shankaracharya, the other three being Dwarka, Badrinath and Rameshwaram, the Kalighat temple is one of the Shakti peeths.
This is not the first time that Banerjee has attempted to appropriate BJP’s religion-focussed campaign planks. Starting from constructing a skywalk leading to the Dakshineshwar temple in October 2018, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and announcing a monthly allowance of ₹1,000 and free housing for Hindu priests, the TMC-government provides financial assistance to clubs organising Durga Puja every year.
“Both Banerjee and the BJP leaders know for sure that the minority vote won’t go in favour of the BJP. Now the TMC supremo is trying to nibble into the BJP’s Hindu vote bank. One also has to see the timing. With the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh, the BJP made an attempt to ride the wave of Hindu sentiments. But Banerjee’s announcement has managed to disarm it to a large extent,” said Rabindranath Bhattacharya, professor of political science at Burdwan University.
Top BJP leaders including Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have repeatedly accused Banerjee of minority appeasement during their election campaigns ahead of the 2021 and 2024 assembly and Lok Sabha polls. In March 2020 the BJP’s Bengal unit had even tagged Banerjee as ‘anti-Hindu’ in a symbolic charge-sheet that was released by the party.
“The minority vote bank is Mamata Banerjee’s shield. But after the attack on minorities in Bangladesh, Hindus are getting united. She knows very well that if the Hindus, who form 70% of the vote bank in West Bengal, unite then she will have no chance. Hence, she is now trying to woo the Hindus. But this won’t have any impact as people have seen her actual face when she wore a hijab while attending an iftar party,” said Rahul Sinha, BJP leader.
“The BJP had earlier spread the propaganda that the TMC government was opposed Durga Puja. The UNESCO’s heritage tag for Durga Puja proved them wrong. The TMC is tolerant to every religion. That’s why we have Durga Puja carnival and Christmas Carnival and the chief minister goes to attend iftar parties,” said Jay Prakash Majumdar, TMC state vice president and spokesperson.
